Franz Schubert Piano sonata n°18 D.894 I. Molto moderato e cantabile 0:00 II. Andante 26:18 III. Menuetto. Allegro moderato 33:59 IV. Allegretto 38:17 Sviatoslav Richter Live recording, Moscow, 3.V.1978
This was Richter’s favourite Schubert’s sonata. And the tempo and all delicacy that he put on this interpretation is simply moving. One should cry and applaud.
There are million pieces of music, and then you find a flower of light like this, like Schubert. A look over the world, a talk with God, the beauty and the kindness.
But it takes a genius like Sviatoslav Richter who gives the flower a brilliant appearance! What a performance, what superb poetry and artistry. Very few piano players come close to Richter, if anyone does in my opinion. I love it that Richter plays many Schubert sonatas slower than "normal" or what is indicated on the score. He really is the master of emotion and romanticism and also technically unsurpassed. Richter is a absolute miracle!!
@@janwillemheijbroek9107 Die heilsame Magie welche Sviatoslav Richter aus den Klängen Schubert'scher Kompositionen erstehen läßt, ist der Ruhe und der nötigen Zeit die er diesen Klängen zugesteht zu verdanken! In den Zwischenräumen der Töne findet etwas statt, welches sich nicht greifen läßt und doch anwesend ist...
"The interpreter is really an executant, carrying out the composer's intentions to the letter. He doesn't add anything that isn't already in the work. If he is talented, he allows us to glimpse the truth of the work that is in itself a thing of genius and that is reflected in him. He shouldn't dominate the music, but should dissolve into it." -S.Richter
I remember when I came across a recording of Richter playing this piece. I was baffled and I'm not sure I got to the end of the first movement. How could the opening movement of a sonata be so slow, I wondered. Several years later I tried again and listened, hardly able to breathe, to the whole thing. Time changes our perspectives, not least in our own life experiences. Somehow this music tells you that, however bad it gets, there is always something round the corner. For me Richter finds extraordinary depth in this mysterious music and, for all his power, it is the gentle, rocking lyricism that I find utterly absorbing. Thank you so much for sharing.
If you love the slow tempo of Richter’s Schubert Piano sonata, you’ll love his slow tempo interpretation of Rachmaninov’s Prelude for a Dying Infant - incredibly moving. This is Richter at 63yo, the mature pianist who brings to his performances the depth and breadth of his life experiences. You can sense this in the performances of Gregory Sokolov today. They each had attained many accolades so they’re not trying to prove themselves, they are solely focused on sharing their extraordinary relationship with the musical compositions, how they find their life inside the music.
Interprétation éblouissante, inoubliable. C'est une autre planète. Un autre monde de la musique. Richter était un génie, pénétré de la musique de Schubert .
Un autre monde vous avez raison...un monde mystérieux et énigmatique, comment révéler les choses ineffables de cette musique sublime ? Richter en avait le secret.
@@stephencox7628 Its not even a particularly slow tempo. Its what I know as the nature of Schuberts music. I also find the tempo very suitable and very nice to get the highest depth of all notes. Thats why I almost only hear Schubert recordings by Brendel, cause he really feels the calm Schubert put into his music. Best example D960 II. compared to other pianists is a difference like day and night. But with Richter its similar here. Really indescribably good.
I am not very pleased with the slow tempi that Richter applies to his Schubert interpretations. But it is only the first movement. The last movement is played quite fast I would say. This having written I have to point out that I am a real fan of Richter. S.Richter :)
@@hanshartmann8205 It's part of Richter's own interpretation - actually most critical aspect. What really matters is to keep tight tonal and phrasal balance even in the slowest moment - which I believe this recording exhibits. I once heard a comment (by a master musician) that a performer may take longer time if she/he has a lot of stories to tell. Richter apparently found many Schuberts stories in this regard - I think I'm truly lucky and fortunate to meet this performance allowing discovery of Schubert and himself
Auch hier ist von den ersten Anschlägen an zu spüren, wie der Pianist das individuelle Gesetz des Sonatensatzes erkennt und diesem unbeirrbar im Geist des Komponisten folgt: Alles fügt sich in unaussprechlicher Schönheit...
I just stumbled across this guy now in my late 20s. Shame on me. You can tell straight away he used to be one of those rare interpretors with the heart of a true artist. He listens deeply to the sounds, instead of performing emotions, it's authentic, it's like a breeze, when he plays.
you're way ahead of me too, I've only discovered Richter this year, and I'm in my 40s. No shame though; only too grateful to have found such a gem of an artist.
Thank you Mr Richter for making this possible, for letting Franz Schubert talk so deeply, so truthfully, so directly to our hearts, for this pure emotion. Tears drop from my eyes, but maybe, in the end, we are not totally alone and there is something universal we can share, that lasts, and that distinguishes us positively as humans
Schubert's late music often transcends into other worlds but where Richter takes it seems beyond mortal reach. This is such a beautiful performance that I feel I have never really heard it before.
@@paolofrigeriomusic3691 Thanks, Paolo. Yes, you are right: after 43 years no one can do better than Richter in my opinion. And I love your image of him floating is some faraway Milky Way. And your English is good.
Overwhelming! I've heard nothing to compare with this EVER before. A revelation!! A complete re-envisioning of this work that lifts it into new heights of expressive power and emotional and aesthetic impact. Just every note so right, so true.... He finds the kindred spark of genius that Beethoven recognised in Schubert. Just so totally gripping, it's hard to describe...
Impressiona-me particularmente esta obra de Schubert... de interpretação dificilima, presumo. Expressar a atmosfera psicológica (tempestiva, entediada, revolta, dolorosa, eu sei lá que mais...) desta obra - e como a entendo - da forma como o faz Richter não tem paralelo, que é insuperável. E basta compará-la com outras interpretações de grandes pianistas que, no caso, ficam bem atrás desta magistral execução
Tiefempfundene live Interpretation dieses Schwanengesangs von Schubert mit feinem Schlag und angeborener Lyrik sowie ohne überflüssige Agogik. Keine anderen Pianisten habe im 21. Jahrhundert ihn überstiegen. Echt unvergleichlicher Pianist!
A recording like this one makes me worry less about my piano being out of tune (and more about my timing skills and ability to maintain tension in long slow pieces).
I'm pretty sure he played it on both dates, and both performances were recorded. I have both on CD. Bizarrely, the timings of the finale are 13'20" on 2 May and 7'28" on 3 May. Those would indicate that this is indeed the performance from 3 May. I don't have a score so I'm not sure if the difference is accounted for by optional repeats or a memory lapse which led to some repetition. I heard him play this sonata in Aldeburgh in the 70s. On that occasion he repeated the finale as an encore.
Keith Jarrett was so right when he said, "There is a moment in silence and between notes which is bliss but if you cough, you ruin it.' Damn all those coughers...lol
I agree. So perhaps this should have been recorded in a studio. Live performances risk ruin. Personally, I never attend live concerts anymore. I prefer a quiet room at home.... lights low. Good quality electronics and excellent coffee.
@@renzo6490 You cannot beat a live performance, and In Moscow in winter there are going to be people who cough. Richter more than anyone would have understood that and it would not have bothered him in the slightest. Richter did not care at all for his studio recordings.Frankly, Keith Jarrett is a vain and pretentious martinet, not worthy of even opening the keyboard lid for the master
@@jeremyd1021- Well, here we must disagree. I don't seek to change your opinion.Let those who wish to do so attend live concerts. In the case of rock concerts and such, being part of a crowd enhances the experience.The music is loud and an explosive cough from the audience will have no effect on the mood. But classical music, sonatas, concertos , chamber pieces and even the andante movement of symphonies require, to my mind, an atmosphere free of distraction. No coughing, no rustling of paper, no foul smell of tobacco, no overbearing perfumes, no chatter, no tiny lights illuminating the program, no humming along ( ! ) no crinkle of cellophane wrapped candies! The composer and the performer deserve better. I would gladly sit and listen to Richter play Schubert live if I were the only person present. But that would be impractical. Just because performing to large crowds is profitable does not mean it is a good arrangement for enjoying the music.
Arrau really did a very wood rendering of this sonata. But Richter's slowlyness of de first movement has a diferent, personal, emotional view of this marvelous music. Greetings from Chile.
It's a wonderful performance. There are some unfortunate things. The tempo of the fourth movement is too fast, and Schubert's work is not fully utilized. Since he was performing in 1978, it is impossible for Richter to weave in 21st century sensibilities. This piano sonata by Schubert also embraces the sensibilities of the 21st century. That's my personal opinion.
Someone began to die at 3:37, continued dying at 3:54, spitted a chung of lung at 4:01, other began to die as well, another chung of lung at 4:45, pneumonia at 4:53...behind the sacred music the coughing animal
Beautiful performance but I would have preferred less accompanying audience participation. Radu Lupu has a wonderful recording with a silent background.
Richter était sans aucun doute génial, il pouvait être sidérant, époustouflant, bouleversant,. Le tempo extrêmement lent qu’il choisit dans la D.960 de Schubert est magnifique, d’une incroyable profondeur... d’une désespérance indicible devant la mort prochaine. Et pourtant, cette même lenteur plus extrême encore dans la D894 m’a toujours paru outrancière (et à la limite du supportable dans ce premier mouvement qu’il n’en finit plus de ralentir). A chacun sa propre sensibilité. En ce qui me concerne, bien qu’étant un admirateur inconditionnel de Richter, je n’adhère pas à ces mouvements d’extases qu’il suscite dans les commentaires que j’ai lus. Ce tempo est, pour moi, simplement forcé, erroné et m’irrite plus qu’il ne me touche. Le tempo choisi par Volodos me paraît être celui qui convient le mieux à cette merveilleuse sonate. Son interprétation qui se situe entre les deux extrêmes que sont Gieseking (difficile de faire plus vite) et Richter (difficile de faire plus lent) est d’une immense beauté.
Je fais partie de ceux qui aiment cette interprétation (1978) mais Richter lui-même peut faire plus lent (Moscou 1979): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-E7_OW2__ZR0.html Un peu trop lent , moins bon à mes oreilles. A chacun ses oreilles.
I'm not happy about his slowing down of the First Movement... let us say that it is an interesting experiment but I think he has got the Third Movement exactly right
+Robinson Tapia, Claudio Arrau is/was a superb pianist and, though a Chilean, a shining example of the German school of piano playing. With all due respect, however, Arrau is nowhere near the league of Karl Richter when it comes to musicality, poetic feeling and prodigious virtuosism. We have both expressed our opinion, and I will leave it at that.
Only the father is german ancestry. The mother is russian. Richter was born in Zitomir, Ukraine, in 1915. Lived the major part of life in Moscow. He studied in the Moscow Conservatory in Heirich Neuhaus´s class.
However much one may admire this performance, Richter flagrantly disregards Schubert's tempo markings - the first movement way too slow, the last too fast. So if you're looking for a "faithful" performance you won't find it here.
Too slow, too fast... Nobody cares about it, except you sir. What I hear there is simply the most magnificient rendering of this piece, the rest doesn't matter. There's a reason why Richter's Schubert is so legendary: it's even better than what the composer himself had in mind. I played the first movement of this sonata, and it simply isn't convicing if one plays exactly what Schubert wanted, including his tempo indication.
@@euclidtheorem4817 You're right. But I don't find it convincing and it seems that the majority or people prefer Richter's slow tempo (oh, how strange!...). I can play it as good as any professional pianist, but it will simply a little dreamy salon piece - this is how it sounds in your so called "right hands".
Враження ніби Ріхтер грає невихованим чехоточним зекам десь в сибірських уранових шахтах - слухати як ті засмаркані рускі старичкі всю дорогу кашляють і пердять... нереально (((
The problem with the first movement is an ungainly structure that rambles on interminably. But most commentators seem to love it. Of course, Richter plays it exquisitely.
